Philippines
“Hindi ako magpapahuli nang buhay (I will not be caught alive).”
The beleaguered ‘Son of Man’ Pastor Apollo Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) vowed as authorities tried to arrest him on charges of child and sexual abuse in Davao City.
The fugitive doomsday preacher broke his silence, April 6 and accused President Marcos of conspiring with the United States in an alleged assassination plot against him. He has been wanted in the U.S. for human rights abuses, “including a pattern of systemic and pervasive rape of girls as young as 11 years old”.
The charismatic leader of a world-wide cult broke down at the end of a nearly 33-minute audio recording posted by his media arm, according to a report by Rappler.
“Tandaan po ninyo: Ako’y mamamatay with honor. Tatayo ako para sa mga ginipit, kinunan ng katarungan, kinunan ng hustisya sa bansang ito. Dito tutulo ang aking dugo. Dito ako mamamatay. Bahala na, basta Pilipino ang papatay sa akin. OK sa akin iyon,” Quiboloy said, his voice cracking.
Law enforcers last Wednesday, April 3, served the arrest warrants issued by a Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Davao City against Quiboloy and his associates.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said they could not locate the pastor at three distinct sites: His resort on Samal Island, the school he oversees in Buhangin, and his lavish prayer mountain in Barangay Tamayong.
But the NBI nabbed Quiboloy’s church associate Cresente Canada, chairman of Barangay Tamayong. Two other accused, Pauline Canada and Sylvia Cemañes, surrendered to authorities.
Two others linked to Quiboloy, namely Ingrid Canada and Jackielyn Roy, surrendered a day after authorities nabbed one of the pastor’s associates.
Abandoned
Quiboloy has been abandoned by his friends, including Senator Bato dela Rosa who urge Quiboloy to give up and face the charges. Former President Rodrigo Duterte has been mum on Quiboloy. He is reportedly the caretaker of the Quiboloy properties.
Dela Rosa also said that former president Rodrigo Duterte would not do such a thing as coddle Quiboloy. Duterte considers Quiboloy his spiritual adviser.
Quiboloy is reported to own two mansions in Canada – one in Ontario and another in Surrey, B.C. His charity, Children’s Joy has been in operation in Canada for a number of years until its registration was cancelled by the government for non-compliance.
The preacher alleged that US authorities intended to kidnap or kill him rather than extradite him for trial in an American court without specifying why the US would want him dead.
Quiboloy also claimed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had agreed to hand him over to the Americans, suggesting that recent actions by the Senate and the House of Representatives against him and his group were part of the alleged US strategy. He did not say how exactly he learned of this, but he stated that the purported US plot was confirmed by his lawyers.
Wanted in the US, Quiboloy has been placed on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) list of most wanted after he and several of his associates were indicted by a federal grand jury in a California district court in 2021 for a series of cases including sex trafficking, fraud and coercion, misuse of visas, bulk cash smuggling, and money laundering.
He also said he would only appear in court on condition that Marcos, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, and heads of various law enforcement agencies would guarantee in writing that the US would not be involved in any manner and that he would not get killed.
Another condition for his surrender, according to Quiboloy, is if the Senate committee chaired by Senator Risa Hontiveros would cease its ongoing investigation into the alleged abuses committed against former KOJC workers.